There it was.
Carved in wood.
The evidence could not be denied.
My niece, Anna, dropped her kids off at school and then went home to clean up a bit. She removed a hairbrush, school papers, and yesterday’s jewelry from her dresser. And there it was. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
A nail.
And a name.
L-i-l-l-i-a-n…carved into the top of her dresser’s walnut surface.
Seven-year-old L-i-l-l-i-a-n didn’t even bother to hide the weapon used to commit the crime. The nail lay just where she found it. Right on the dresser by her name.
It was a tough six hours as Anna waited for her 44-inch, 49-pound lump of love to get off the school bus. This was not a good day.
“Come with me,” Anna said to little Lillian. “I want to show you something.”
“What’s this about?” Anna asked pointing to L-i-l-l-i-a-n carved into the wood.
Lillian’s rosy lower lip quivered, her green eyes filled with tears, and her porcelain face turned autumn red.
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered with bowed head.
“What were you thinking?” Anna asked sternly.
“Well,” she began, “last night I was waiting for the boys to finished their shower so I could take my turn. I saw the nail and picked it up. At first, when I thought about carving my name on the dresser, my mind said ‘no, no, no, don’t do it,’ But the longer I waited, and the longer I thought about it, the ‘no, no, no, don’t do it’ turned into ‘yes, yes, yes, do it.’ And I did. I knew it was wrong, but I just had to do it.”
Anna got down on her knees and held Lillian’s cherub but very guilty face in her hands. “That’s how the devil works,” Anna said. “He creeps in when we don’t expect it and tells us to do bad things — wrong things; but it is up to us to say ‘no.’”
“I’m sorry, mommy,” Lillian cried. “I’ll never listen to the devil again.”
Anna told me her story, and you know what? I saw myself in Lillian. I wonder if you did too.
Temptation lies right in front of us — like a nail just taunting us to scratch an itch. At first we say “no, no, no,” but the longer we wait around and fiddle with it, the more likely the “no, no, no” will turn into a “yes, yes, yes.”
What’s the answer? Don’t wait around and fiddle with it! Walk away. Right away.
Paul wrote: “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).
That’s true whether the temptation is flirting with that married man at the office, having one glass of wine too many, searching for an old boyfriend on Facebook, sharing a juicy morsel of gossip with a friend, or carving your name in your mom’s dresser with a nail.
I love that Lillian said, “I’ll never listen to the devil again.” Oh don’t you wish that were true? For Lillian. For me. For you. But we will.
That’s when I thank Jesus for the nails – not one, but three — nails that pierced His hands and feet so that we can be forgiven. Even when we fail, Jesus forgives us when we ask and restores us when we fall. Click & Tweet!
It’s called G-r-a-c-e.
Dear Lord, when I encounter temptation today, help me to walk away, right away. Give me the wisdom not to fiddle with it, the strength not to give in to it, and the courage to turn my back on it. Thank You for always providing a way out. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Want to dig a little deeper today: Read 2 Samuel 11:1-5. List at least five things David should have done to turn away from this sin.
Think of the last time you really messed up. Think of five steps you could have taken to stop the progression. If you dare, leave a comment and tell at least 1.
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Comments 13
Sorry that was not meant to be a comment.
Dear Sharon James.
I don’t know if this will reach you, but I wondered if it would be possible to change your postage to include the UK. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Maryelizabeth Re’born
Author
I’m so sorry, but with all the restrictions and extra paper work, we have to just ship to the U.S. Have you tried Amazon or Christian book distributors.
I love little Lillian and the correlation of her story and our need for grace. At age 68 I pray daily for the need to turn away-right away so that I don’t say something that CANNOT be erased. Thank you so much for this. I realize how grateful I am that God’s grace is sufficient!
Thanks so much for sharing I seen myself in it too opened up my eyes
On point about allowing ourselves to ponder sin..
Three nails used to pierce the hands and feet of Jesus so we could be forgiven….those words jumped out to me….and I immediately remembered Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Correlation?
Oh boy have I had more than my share of Lillian moments and even at 62 I still struggle.Listening to KLOVE helps keep the word in my mind all day via song.
love that station!
Good morning Sharon is 6:20 am in Virginia thank you for this devotional is just at I needed to read today I pray God will keep using you in an awesome way today and always have a blessed day!
Lillian’s promise to “not listen to the devil again” remind me of how many times I’ve listened to the devil say untruths to me. Sometimes I haven’t immediately recognized it was him. Sweet little Lillian has good intentions and so do we. I’m focusing on being intentional- not just having good intentions. Intentionally speaking God’s truths strengthens my ability to not listen to the devil…I’m not saying I don’t still miss the mark, I’m just saying it’s improved things.
Thank you for this timely message. I really blew it yesterday I have a terrible habit of blurring things out without thinking first. Then I beat myself up which affects my mood and sleep. I am learning to confess my sins by letting go, and letting Go work things out for me but Satan still tries to poke his thoughts into my head. I really needed to hear this today. Thank you from
a grateful Canadian.
Good morning from Virginia. As I read the message about Lillian I can see myself in that. I know it is wrong and not right but somehow I pick up that nail and crave something that is wrong. The message makes me stop and look at myself do I have all I need to say no to the devil no I need to dig down deep and keep God’s true words in my heart and remember what he says about me.
G-r-a-c-e………..I felt this devotional had my name in it rather than Lillian’s! Thank you! And thank God for his never ending G-r-a-c-e!